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Not surprisingly, those animated, Atlanta-based elves responsible for the Adult Swim programming on the Cartoon Network make merry with extreme prejudice at the holidays. The “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Star-Studded Christmas Spectacular Starring Rhon Geremi” will be broadcast Christmas Eve, but a sleighful of holiday-themed shows air tonight, Dec. 19, including “Robot Chicken’s Half-Assed Christmas Special;” “A Huey Freeman Christmas” on “The Boondocks;” “Rebel with a Claus” on “Squidbillies;” and “A Very Venture Christmas” on “Venture Brothers.” The latter features James Urbaniak and is a real favorite among my friends. Watch the cold open from the show (pictured) and see how many references to classic Christmas movies and shows you can count.

Adult Swim has actually compiled its own Ten Best Christmas Moments, with video clips all cued up. The likes of “NORAD vs. Santa” and “Santa’s Drug Lab” (a “Rudolph” parody) from “Robot Chicken” or “Horror Claus” on “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” get pretty darn dark.

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The Cartoon Network goes back “not long ago, in a galaxy not far enough way” with “Robot Chicken: Star Wars, Episode II,” the second all-Star Wars themed episode of the animated comedy series. Created by actor Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, “Robot Chicken” uses stop-motion animation — frequently of familiar action figures and product tie-ins — to lampoon pop culture. In 2007, “Robot Chicken’s” its first wide-ranging goof on the Star Wars franchise earned the some of the show’s greatest acclaim, and even an Emmy nomination.

Airing Nov. 16 on Adult Swim, “Episode II” offers more sketches and “one-liner” gags about Jedi, the Galactic Empire and even the maligned Ewoks (who someone escaped direct assault the first time around). In addition to comedy voice talents like Green and Bob Bergen, the special features cameos from Star Wars alumni, including Carrie Fisher and Ahmed Best (the voice of Jar-Jar Binks). Billy Dee Williams offers a particularly amusing lampoon of his own performance as Lando Calrissian. Part of what makes the “Robot Chicken” treatment so amusing is the way Green and company have such a good grasp on how to mock George Lucas’s iconic characters. Middle finger gags, for instance, prove hilariously “wrong” in a context of robots, Sith Lords and space stations. Evil Emperor Palpatine comes across like the most jerky, exasperated boss imaginable, while bounty hunter Boba Fett is like a cocky braggart at a sports bar. This new promo gives a taste of how the show treats Darth Vader.

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